On September 16th the crew had their very first race of the season and TPcurrent  is here to tell you what exactly went down, who was racing and in what as well as who won and lost their races. The races began at 7AM on Saturday 16th. However the Tampa prep crew arrived at 6AM bright and ready for the morning. The first race was at 7AM sharp.

In the early morning of September 16, the varsity crew team had their first race of the school year. 

The mens varsity quad, including Zach Farrell, Henry Mensch, and Luke Burden, placed 5th overall. 

“We tried our best, but we just weren’t better than the rest,” Farrell said. 

The womans double with Mia Findlay and Amelia Dill came in second overall, bring in the feeling of victory for the rest of the team. 

“We worked hard, rowed fast, and kicked [the other team’s] butt!” Findlay said. 

The mens eight group consisted of only two seniors in the boat, and didn’t favor well against the competition. One of the seniors, Will Loosbrock, was glad the freshmen in the boat got the experience. 

“There’s still a lot of work to be done, but it was important to get the freshmen out on the water,” Loosbrock said. 

The men’s 4 boat, which features returning team members and national competitors, as well as the lightweight men’s crew, competed in an intense race at the end of the event. The race was an intense one, with the varsity getting gold and the light weights getting silver for Prep. Overall the race was a success form both the rowers, coxswains, and coaches

 “It was great to see many of our top boats medal, particularly in the Mens’ varsity 4+, Mens’ lightweight 4+ and women’s double categories. We beat our competition by a handy margin in all of these events. Moreover, it was great to see how our crews performed on what is a very difficult racecourse,” Head coach Chris VanDyke said. 

The rowing team faces their next challenge in October.